How do I see firmware version; how do I upgrade manually?

[woolenegg]

So, we hadn't used our cameras this winter, but the base station remained connected. I'm having issues with the system being "offline" which I've posted about already. Base station has 3 steady green LEDs, both cameras have fresh batteries, are synced, and will give Live video for a few seconds after logging in, until "Getting status..." changes to "Offline."

I thought I would check and make sure the firmware was up-to-date. I looked up how to update manually if needed. The instructions say:

To update your Arlo or Arlo Pro firmware manually:

Launch the Arlo app or log in to arlo.netgear.com.

Tap or click Settings > My Devices and select your Arlo or Arlo Pro base station.

Tap or click Device Info > Firmware > Update.

...which seems simple, except that when I select my base station and click on Device Info, the only thing I see is the Serial Number. There is no option anywhere to choose Firmware and then Update.

Same thing with updating the firmware for the cameras; The instructions say:

Tap or click Device Info > Device Settings > My Devices and select the Arlo Wire-Free or Arlo Pro Wire-Free camera that you want to update.

Tap or click Device Info > Firmware > Update.

Again, if I select one of my cameras and then click Device Info, all I get is: "Hardware Version ... H7" and the serial number of the selected camera. No option anywhere to choose Firmware and then Update.

Now, my whole system is offline, as per my other forum posting, so I don't know if this is the reason I can't see what firmware version I have currently and am unable to update anything. If that's the case, it seems like a bad design. "You're offline because your firmware is out of date, but you can't get online to update it" would be really bad planning. I hope that's not the case.

But can anyone solve the mystery of the missing option to update firmware? And while you're at it, I note that the little icons to show approximate battery life, and to show wifi strength seem to have disappeared from the camera screens. Is this by design?

UPDATE: The above applies when logged in on a web browser. On my phone app, for the base station Device Info I can see a heading for Hardware, Serial Number, and xCloudID, each with associated info. I can also see a heading for Firmware, but it doesn't show any version info, and tapping on it doesn't do anything. For either camera, I can see Hardware, Serial Number, and Firmware, but again, Firmware doesn't show a version number and tapping on it doesn't give any options.

[jguerdat]

That option hasn't been available for well over a year.  The info you're seeing is out of date.  The only way to try to get an update, especially since you can't see the firmware version, is to power cycle the base and wait overnight, which it's very likely you've already done.

What are your upload and download speeds as measured by speedtest.net?  If those are satisfactory, I'd try a full reset, removing all devices from Settings, My Devices and use the reset button until the LEDs flash amber.  Use the Add Device button on the Devices tab to add the base and sync the cameras.  If that fails, you're gonna need to open a case with support.

[woolenegg]

Download: 17.79 Mbps

Upload: 1.21 Mbps

Yes, we've actually removed all devices, reset the base station, then gone through the whole setup procedure, re-added the base, re-added and synced the cameras, etc. That was yesterday. A few days ago I tried simply powering down the base and then restarting it again. 

This system worked well from the time we bought it; now the cameras are basically expensive paperweights. Even though we took the cameras down for the winter, we left the base station connected. So it should have been receiving updates. I'm a bit flabbergasted that there is no way to view which version of firmware is current though. That seems like basic info that should be available and apparently used to be.

[jguerdat]

It would seem to be a hardware issue.  Open a case with support for a possible RMA.

[woolenegg]

I wanted to come back to this, because, during one of the multiple times I now have reset my base station, I managed to snag the firmware version from the web interface, in the few seconds that the base station was "Getting status..." before it went offline again. As it went offline, the line showing the firmware version literally disappeared off the screen...

Anyway, it said 1.2.10342. I've now asked tech support what version should be running. We'll see what they say.

I've been back and forth with tech support since the 18th. They are having us jump through multiple hoops of trying this and that and asking lots of questions about our network, etc. The aim seems to be to find something in our network to blame for the malfunction. 

It's becoming somewhat amusing, on some level, since I just keep answering their questions and they keep coming back and finding more questions to ask. I think they are trying to wear us down until we give up and go away...

[jguerdat]

My original base is at 1.8.8.0_11528 so yours is way out of date.

@JamesC, any suggestions?

[woolenegg]

So I gathered, after finding the firmware version release notes. Which begs the question: Why hasn't our base station been upgraded over time?

Also, why, when I have twice mentioned to tech support during our now 12-day exchange that this is the apparent firmware version running, have they not once responded about that?

I realize you don't have the answer to these questions, I'm just very frustrated at this point. 

[jguerdat]

The usual issue is your Internet speeds.  Test it using speedtest.net and let us know the results.  Upload speed needs to be >1Mbps  - slower usually implies slow download speeds, too.  If you have an unusually slow connection, other folks have had success moving the system to where a faster connection allows the updates to occur and then move it back to your location.

[woolenegg]

We have cable internet which is very reliable. I did the speedtest a couple weeks ago. It was over 1 Mbps upload and over 17 Mbps download, so I don't think that is the problem.

[jguerdat]

Probably the fastest thing to try is a factory reset and start fresh. Remove all devices from Settings My Devices. Use the Add Device button in the Devices tab to add the base and sync the cameras. You may see an update notice immediately or it may happen overnight. If not, your last step is to use your support case. Don't just wait for them to reply - you can always be proactive in using your case.

[woolenegg]

Believe me, we've done that at least twice. We've been back and forth with support since April 18th. They keep coming up with more and more outlandish hoops to jump through, trying to find some way to pin the problem on something other than the base station or the firmware. We've accommodated them at every step. We've just escalated up to level 2 support.

[manfredz]

when my basse station wouldn't work and was painful going thru L1 support, like you.  But L2 rocked, quickly established base station faulty and fedexed me a new one

[woolenegg]

Do you know what the warranty period is for the base station? 

[jguerdat]

Warranty for the system is 1 year, base and cameras.

[MomboT]

I am having similar issues.  1st it said I was unable to sign ito cameras now that cameras were offline.  i have tried rebooting, factory resettng, I removed ALL devices - base and 5 cameras.  Now i see base listed but cannot get a camera to sync.  I was having issues with interent this past weekend.  Weeded out internet speed as it is good.  Checked my netgear nighthawk router and it needed a firmware update.  That didn't fix either.  Dooes Arlo bese need an update.  I have not been able to find a way to update it.

Help.

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[woolenegg]

According to an earlier post in this thread, there is no longer any way to manually force a firmware update. There used to be, and the instructions are still available online, but I guess they are no longer applicable. Other than removing devices, resetting the base, and then re-syncing cameras, and hoping that this will trigger an update, I don't think there is a way to do it.

[jguerdat]

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MomboT wrote:

I am having similar issues.  1st it said I was unable to sign ito cameras now that cameras were offline.  i have tried rebooting, factory resettng, I removed ALL devices - base and 5 cameras.  Now i see base listed but cannot get a camera to sync.  I was having issues with interent this past weekend.  Weeded out internet speed as it is good.  Checked my netgear nighthawk router and it needed a firmware update.  That didn't fix either.  Dooes Arlo bese need an update.  I have not been able to find a way to update it.

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It's not clear that you used the Add Device button on the Devices tab after you removed all devices in Settings, My Devices.  Did you? What are the base LEDs showing? Should be power and Internet being green.  It might be worth trying again, removing all devices and use the reset button on the base until the LEDs flash amber.  Start fresh.